Dobson, 2 ministers to offer counsel
The three men chosen to oversee the Rev. Ted Haggard’s spiritual restoration are well-known in conservative Christian circles and are old pros at such work. James Dobson, the Rev. Jack Hayford and the Rev. Tommy Barnett have been tapped by New Life’s overseer board to “perform a thorough analysis of Haggard’s mental, spiritual, emotional and physical life.” That includes a polygraph test and extensive investigation, according to the Rev. Larry Stockstill, chairman of the overseer board.
OK, this week’s meeting of the Evangelical Closeted Homosexual Club will come to order….
Of course, the first step in reviving an Evangelical preacher’s career is in figuring out what it’s going to take to convince the sheeple in his church that he has been fully rehabilitated. My suggestion would be to force Haggard to wander naked in the wilderness for 40 days and 40 nights, subsisting only on Slim Jims and his own urine, but there’s a reason Evangelicals don’t listen to me.
I’m not at all against the idea of rehabilitating Haggard, but from where I sit, having Dobson and crew do it is like having the Pentagon investigating their conduct of the war in Iraq. Objectivity would seem in short supply.
Not being a Christian, I’m not much on their brand of forgiveness and rehabilitation. Personally, I’d sentence Haggard to a lifetime of ministering to the poor and downtrodden on Castro St. in San Francisco. Put him in a situation where he understands the lifestyle, and watch what happens. He had his shot at fame, fortune, and power, and he wasted it on three years of paying for gay sex. In my book, that pretty much eliminates you from any future possiblity of normal fellowship. Of course, I’m not a Christian…which probably explains why no one is asking my opinion on how to best rehabilitate Ted Haggard.
The men chosen to counsel Haggard are respected in the evangelical community and have been called upon over the years to counsel many other pastors — fallen or not. They range from singer Pat Boone to televangelist Jim Bakker.
The best known of the chosen counselors is Dobson, chairman of Colorado Springsbased Focus on the Family, considered one of the most powerful conservative political voices in the country.
Hayford is founding pastor of The Church on the Way in Van Nuys, Calif. Barnett is pastor of Phoenix First Assembly of God in Phoenix.
“The choices of Dobson and Barnett seem to make a lot of sense,” said Rick Ross, founder of Ross Institute of New Jersey, which keeps a database Web site about religious movements.
He noted that Dobson is a psychologist and Barnett has a mission home that often deals with those who have used drugs.
Ross said he was not sure where Hayford fits into the equation. But Hayford’s church Web site says he has a ministry that “nurtures” pastors.
I suppose if an intolerant, closeted homosexual preacher wants to be rehabilitated, why not surround himself with other, like-minded, overfed White males?
From where I sit, this “rehabilitation” appears to be little more than a joke looking for a place to be told. It’s just too bad that so many are willing to be such a flaming hypocrite a second chance. Then again, I’m a horrible, miserable excuse for a human being, so who cares about my opinion, anyway?
